friday 3/26 Another day I was looking forward to. We knew we would be working on the reforestation project today. Reforestation is basically: "the restocking of existing forests and woodlands which have been depleted." We hoped on the motor boat and drove to a secluded location....a secluded, marshy location. There were extra ankle length boots waiting for us, thankfully. The mud we'd be walking in would cover our ankles. I put on plenty of sunblock....except for my back!! And face! Normally I am very anal about covering my face...this time I simply forgot, but my back got the brunt of it. Erick and Neil carried the heavy trays of plants out from the motor boat. There were three other locals there that did not speak english but were very grateful to have us there. Our job ... read more

thurs 3/25 This was one of the hottest days yet. But a day I was excited for because we'd be going to the manatee platform to feed them!! It was a "free day" for Neil, so he had the day off to go explore and be a tourist in the nearby cities. So, Shen, Erick, and I went to do the "Aquatic path" The Aquatic path is basically the river....but we'd turn on little narrow mangroves to reach the manatee platform. We took a tiny motor boat and road out to the path....once we got there, it was too narrow and too shallow to use the motor so all three of us rowed!! Little ole' me was rowin' a boat!! My shoulders and arms hurt, of course. Geez, Im out of shape! but I kept thinking, ... read more

Our first full day in Panama! We woke up to a yummy breakfast. I am one of those people that absolutly cannot function without breakfast. I wake up starving and have to eat NOW. Evelyn was our cook, and a good one at that. Every day we had coffee and hot cocoa waiting for us, fresh fruit like papaya and pineapple. some days eggs, other days some hot dog bread thing, other days corn flakes! It was all very good and I made sure to eat alot of breakfast because we'd be working hard. We started off doing "turtle training" which sounds kind of funny. Erick has us build a sand turtle! it was cute and I took lots of pics. Neil built the turtles head and made him have a sad face!!! I sculpted the ... read more

So we met up at 8:30am with Nikki meeting us at the hostel. She was going to walk with us the 15 minuet walk to the i to i office for our orientation and introduction to the volunteer projects. It was a very pretty day, excellent weather. I was just happy to be feeling better, and starving!!! The i to i "office" was actually a house, a very pretty house and we had our orientation on the patio of the backyard. I forgot whose house it actually is, but the woman works at i to i. Anyway, she gave us an intro to the program, and the country of Costa Rica and we watched a few videos of "culture shock"... in one particular video there was an American student who seemed very ignorant who kept saying ... read more

So... I leave to Costa Rica in 5....I repeat....FIVE days.....I am starting to freak out a little! I have traveled alone before, but always to visit a friend and always in the states. This is my first solo trip outside the country. I am NOT prepared! Ive had 5 months to plan and prepare....ugh, such a procrastinator! Alot of "what if" scenerios have gone through my mind....what if I get food poisoning? What if I lose my passport? What if I get robbed? What if I get eaten by a shark? What if I get bit by some mosquito and get some unknown deadly disease? What if everything is more expensive than I budgeted for and I go broke? What if something happens to my phone and I have no form of communication to people back ... read more